Once viewed as a terrible procedure forced on the mentally ill, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is becoming more popular as it helps deeply depressed people emerge from a pit of despair. But the suspicion lingers. Is shock therapy the bedeviled curse some people claim, or the miracle cure proclaimed by many others?

“What do you mean you can’t hug Uncle Mort? He’s 70!”
“Of course you can eat this — look, it has a big K on it.”
“We can’t wait for you to meet the new rabbi of our synagogue — she’s amazing.”
Attending the simchah of a secular relative can be an emotional and halachic minefield for even the most seasoned baal teshuvah.
How to navigate the bittersweet experience.